Structure for fixing piano legs

ABSTRACT

A STRUCTURE FOR FIXING PIANO LEGS COMPRISING A PAIR OF WOODEN SIDE BRACKETS SUPPORTING A KEYBOARD, EACH BRACKET HAVING GRAINS RUNNING SUBSTANTIALLY IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AND HAVING A BUTT END, WOODEN END BOARDS EACH BONDED TO SAID BUTT END AND HAVING GRAINS RUNNING PERPENDICULARLY TO THE GRAIN DIRECTION OF SAID BRACKET, SAID BRACKET AND SAID END BOARD BEING COVERED AND CONNECTED TOGETHER BY A DECORATIVE PANEL, AND LEG MEMBERS FIXED TO SAID END BOARDS BY MEANS OF DOWELS AND HAVING GRAINS DIRECTED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THAT OF THE GRAINS OF SAID END BOARDS. THE LEG MEMBERS MAY BE FIXED   TO THE BRACKETS BY MEANS OF BOLT AND NUT MEMBERS OR KEYBOARD-MOUNTING METAL PLATE MEMBERS, IN WHICH CASES THE END BOARDS MAY BE OMITTED.

20, 1971 MASAHARU OHARA 3,605,543

STRUCTURE FOR FIXING PIANO LEGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1970 p 1 MASAHARU O HARA 3,505,543

STRUCTURE FOR FIXING PIANO LEGS Filed July 16, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5A

FIG. 58

United States Patent Office 3,605,543 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 3,605,543 STRUCTURE FOR FIXING PIANO LEGS Masaharu Ohara, Hamamatsu, Japan, assignor to Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha, Hamamatsu-shi,

Shizuoka-ken, Japan Filed July 16, 1970, Ser. No. 55,492 Claims priority, application Japan, July 21, 1969, 44/68,781, 44/68,782, 44/ 68,783 Int. Cl. G10c 3/02 US. Cl. 84177 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A structure for fixing piano legs comprising a pair of wooden side brackets supporting a keyboard, each bracket having grains running substantially in a horizontal direction and having a butt end, wooden end boards each bonded to said butt end and having grains running perpendicularly to the grain direction of said bracket, said bracket and said end board being covered and connected together by a decorative panel, and leg members fixed to said end boards by means of dowels and having grains directed substantially in the same direction as that of the grains of said end boards. The leg members may be fixed to the brackets by means of bolt and nut members or keyboard-mounting metal plate members, in which cases the end boards may be omitted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pianos and more particularly to improvements in a structure for fixing piano legs so as to join the upper portions of leg members with the front ends of wooden side brackets supporting the keyboard section of an upright piano, for example, of a console type.

With a console type piano, for example, the upper portion of the leg member has heretofore often been joined with the front end of the side bracket particularly from the standpoint of attractive design. Although there have been applied various devices with respect to the joint of both members to realize visual appeal and mechanical strength, the most important practical problem is the fact that when the piano is moved or transported over a long distance, the leg member is often loosened from the bracket or falls off therefrom.

The primary object of the present invention is to eliminate the aforesaid shortcomings encountered with the conventional piano and provide such piano whose leg structure is so improved as to attain this object.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a console type piano to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental side view of the joint of a side bracket and a leg member embodying the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmental top plan view, partly in cross section, of the side bracket bonded by an end board and decorative panels;

FIG. 4 is a fragmental side view of the joint of a side bracket and a leg member according to another embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 5A and 5B respectively present the plan and side views of a keyboard-fitting metal plate member used in the embodiment of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESORIPTJON OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is provided at the front part of a piano body a keyboard 11 consisting of a plurality of keys juxtaposed in a prescribed order of musical notes. The keyboard 11 is supported by a pair of side brackets 12 made of wood and projecting from the piano body 10 substantially in a horizontal direction. Each side bracket 12 is made in an elongated form and usually so constructed that its grains run substantially in a horizontal direction with a butt end 13 formed at the front end thereof, as shown in FIG. 3. To the butt end 13 is bonded with an adhesive agent an end board 14 of wood which covers the whole area of the butt end 13 and whose grains run substantially perpendicularly to the grain direction of the side bracket 12. The both sides of the side bracket 12 and the end board 14 are covered and fixedly connected together by decorative panels 15 and 16 by using an adhesive agent.

To composite structures of the side brackets 12, the end boards 14 and the decorative panels 15 and 16, are fixed leg members 17 whose grains are directed substantially in the same direction as that of the grains of the end boards 14. As apparent from FIG. 2, the leg members 17 are fixedly coupled at their upper portions to the end boards 14 as well as to the side brackets 12 by means of a plurality of dowels 18. The dowels 18 also serve not only to increase resistance to the torsional stress induced between the leg members '17 and the side brackets 12, but also to determine the relative position therebetween. An adhesive agent may also be used for the connection of the leg members 17 to the end boards 14 in combination with the dowels 18.

In the composite structures mentioned above, either of the decorative panels 15 and 16 bonded on both sides of the side bracket 12 and the end board 14 may be omitted, particularly on that side to which the keyboard is fitted.

A structure for fixing piano legs as explained above is one embodiment of the present invention, according to which there is interposed between each leg member and side bracket the end board 14 whose grains run substantially in the same direction as that of the grains arranged in the leg member 17, so that the dowels 18 can be fitted into holes formed in the leg member 17 and in the end board 14 substantially perpendicularly to the grain directions thereof, whereby it is possible to avoid cracks or loosening of the coupling portions which might occur if the leg member 17 is connected directly to the butt end 13 of the side bracket 12,

According to another embodiment of the present invention, bolts and nuts hereinafter explained may be used for coupling the leg members 17 to the side brackets 12 in addition to the above-mentioned dowels 18 and adhesive agent or in place of the above-mentioned adhesive agent.

In this case, a recess 19 is, as shown in FIG. 2, formed in each side bracket 12' at the lolwer'part of the inside thereof near the contact plane of the side bracket 12 and the leg member 17. A horizontal bore 20 is perforated in the side bracket 12 to communicate the recess 19' with the butt end 13 of the side bracket 12. In the end board 14 is also bored a hole (not shown) registering the bore 20. A threaded bolt 21 screwed into the leg member 17 is inserted in the hole and the bore 20 with its head 21a positioned in the recess 19. A nut 22' screwed onto the head 21a. Thus, when the bolt 21 is set in place, the side bracket 12 and the leg member 17 are firmly joined together by tightening the nut 22 onto said head 21a. To the bottom of the side bracket 12 may be attached a metal plate member 23 on which the keyboard '11 is mounted. When the aforesaid bolt and nut are used to connect the leg member to the side bracket, the first-mentioned end board 14 may be omitted from the composite structure shown in FIG. 3 and the leg member 17 may be connected directly to the butt end 13 of the side bracket 12.

FIGS. 4 and 5 represent still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the composite structure of a side bracket 12, an end board 14 and decorative panels 15 and 16 may be constructed in the same manner as shown in FIG. 3, and a leg member also may be constructed as in the preceding embodiments. The side bracket 12 and the leg member 17 are connected together by means of a plurality of dowels 1 8 with the end board 14 being interposed between the side bracket '12 and the leg member 17 as in the preceding embodiment, and the leg member 17 may be, if required, further bonded to the end board 14 by means ofan adhesive agent. Substituting for the above-mentioned bolt and nut, a metal plate member '24 is used in this case to couple the leg member 17 to the side bracket 12. The plate member 24 consists of a fitting section iwherein there are provided holes 24a perforated therethrough to fix the plate member 24 to the bottom face of the side bracket 12 as with screws 25, a keyboard-fitting section wherein there is perforated screw holes 24b to mount the keyboard thereon, and an upright edge section 240 for fixing the metal plate member 24 to the leg member 17, said upright edge section 240 extending perpendicularly to the keyboard-fitting section. The upright edge section 24c may, for example, be perforated with holes 24d through which screws 26- are to be inserted. The upright edge section 240 is set in a recess 27 formed in the end board 14 at the lower corner thereof. As a different form of this embodiment, the end board 14 may be omitted from the composite structure and the leg member 17 may be connected directly to the butt end 13 of the side bracket '12 by means of the dowels '18 and/or the adhesive agent and further by means of said metal plate member 24.

What is claimed is:

1. A structure for .fixing piano legs comprising a pair of side brackets made of wood and supporting 'a keyboard therebetween, each bracket having grains running substantially in a horizontal direction and having a butt end; wooden end boards each bonded to said butt end with grains thereof being directed perpendicularly to the grain direction of said bracket; decorative panels bonded to said brackets and said end boards, each decorative panel covering and connecting said bracket and said end board; and leg members fixed to said end boards by means of dowels, said leg members having grains directed substantially in the same direction as that of said end boards.

2. The structure according to claim 1 wherein said leg members are fixed to said end boards by means of an adhesive agent.

3. The structure according to claim '1 which further includes recesses formed in the insides of said side brackets; bores perforated in said side brackets, said bores communicating said recesses with said butt ends respectively; holes formed in said end boards and registering with said bores; threaded bolts screwed into said leg members and inserted in said bores and said holes with heads thereof positioned in said recesses; and nuts screwed onto said heads, said bolts and said nuts tightly securing the leg members to the brackets.

4. The structure according to claim 1 which further includes metal plate members fixed to the bottom faces of said side brackets, said plate members having keyboardfitting sections and upright edge sections extending perpendicularly to said keyboard-fitting sections, and said upright edge sections being fixed to the leg members.

5. A structure for fixing piano legs comprising a pair of side brackets supporting a keyboard therebetween and having butt ends; leg members connected to said butt ends by means of dowels; recesses formed in the insides of said side brackets; bores perforated in said side brackets and communicating said recesses with said butt ends respectively; threaded bolts screwed into said leg members and inserted in said bores with heads thereof positioned in said recesses; and nuts screwed onto said heads, said bolts and said nuts tightly securing the leg members to the side brackets.

6 .A structure for fixing piano legs comprising a pair of side brackets supporting a keyboard therebetween and having butt ends; leg members connected to said butt ends by means of dowels; and metal plate members fixed to the bottom faces of said side brackets, said plate members having keyboard-fitting sections and upright edge sections extending perpendicularly to said keyboard-fitting sections, and said upright edge sections being fixed to the leg members.

. References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 485,414 11/1892 Keidel 84-177 1,233,682 7/1917 Meiklejohn 84-177 1,301,825 4/1919 Dunn \84177 3,487,737 1/1970 Miyazima 84-177 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner J. F. GONZALES, Assistant Examiner 

